The Synthetic Society
by Visaveran
Summary: Some called them heroes; others declared them enemies. They were silent, always watching, hiding in the shadows, waiting for the perfect moment. Soon the pieces will fall into place and the Diamond Empire will come crashing down at their hands. They are the Synthetic Society.
1. Chapter 1

Gray Diamond scanned the group of gems eyeing over him as if he was some disgusting creature. He wasn't wanted here and he knew it. Yet the woman standing next to him beamed, oblivious to their surroundings. 

He'd heard rumors of a group of rebels, brave fighters looking to take down the empire. Once he was within sight of the Homeworld's inhabitants, the whispers hushed nearly immediately. When he asked, the only answer he got was "You don't find them. They find you." before the gem ran off. 

And so that's exactly what had happened. A spy had tracked him down and led him here, said her name was Hawk Eye. She never mentioned where they were going or why him, but he followed. Something about the blue haired woman told him he should listen to the gem.

Here he was, standing in a room of gems, most of them artificial, feeling terrified. If looks could kill, the glares of many of these gems were sure to have taken his life long ago. The ones that didn't look angry were scared, or just continued their work pretending he wasn't there, though they were the slightest bit uncomfortable with his presence.

"Gray Diamond, right?" The blue haired gem asked before turning a deeper shade of blue. "Well, yeah, what am I talking about? Of course you're Gray Diamond, who else would you be? I did research before taking you here, I mean—" She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, that sounds creepy. I'm not obsessed with you, I promise, research is part of my job." She finished with a nervous laugh. 

Gray Diamond placed a hand on her shoulder to try and calm her down, but immediately pulled back once he felt her tense. "Gray Diamond." He stated, not able to look the gem in the eye. "I'm making you uncomfortable, aren't I?" He looked around the room, searching for an exit. None in sight. Figures, this is a secret society, after all.

"No!" She exclaimed, a lot louder than intended. Her blush deepened when a few heads turned to look her way. "No." She repeated, at a much lower volume. "No, no, you're not making me uncomfortable." She rubbed her palm against her arm awkwardly, looking up at the gem in front of her. "I'm just bad at intros and stuff..." She trailed off at the last word, mumbling a couple other things Gray Diamond couldn't understand. Once again, she took a deep breath. "Welcome to our research branch. Here we track down threats like monsters and gems looking to take us down. They're safe, we don't harm them, we're not evil, I swear on the crystal heart." She cleared her throat, moving on to a less sinister sounding topic. "Here we also look for new members, like you. There's other branches, too, if you're interested."

"Like what?" He asked, feeling significantly safer as he noticed the gems staring at him before had gone back to their work.

"Like spies, warriors, guards, scientists, strategists, and subs." She replied, listing each branch off by counting on her fingers. She began to walk down a long hallway, gesturing for Gray Diamond to follow.

"Subs?" Gray Diamond questioned, furrowing his brows in confusion.

"Subs are gems that take the places of other gems while they're off on longer missions as to not raise suspicion." She could see the other's perplexed expression and knew exactly what he was going to ask. "One of the scientists' experiments is a powder able to transform any gem into the physical form of another, color scheme, voice and all except for personality. It takes a cool and collected gem who can improvise their act based on the charge they're acting as and the situation, so you can probably imagine why I'm not one." She laughed awkwardly at the joke she made at her own expense.

Before anything else could be said, someone rammed into Gray Diamond, knocking both him and the stranger to the ground. The gem rubbed the side of her head where she hit a wall as they fell.

"Miss? Are you okay?" Gray Diamond stood up and offered to help her up, but she refused and got up on her own.

"Sorry about that, wasn't looking, kind of in a hurry, bye!" She spoke so quickly, most of her words slurred together, making it difficult to understand. She walked around the two before breaking into a sprint again.

"Don't knock over any more innocent bystanders, Ser!" Hawk Eye teased the girl who continued running.

She turned her head but kept going. "I'll try!" She responded, looking back in front of her, long bright green hair trailing behind her as she made it past the hall and disappeared into a room Gray Diamond wasn't sure was there before. He shook his head. He probably just wasn't paying attention.

"Who was that?" Gray Diamond asked, looking over at his guide.

"Serpentine. She worked in the sub branch before being chosen to train with our leader." They walked into another hall, continuing on their path. "Sweet girl, really, but she works too hard. Honestly, I don't think there's ever a time she's not working."

"Workaholic, huh?" He shifted the shoulder of his cape to the left before it started to slip off his back. "It wouldn't kill her to take a break, would it?"

Hawk Eye laughed for the third time since they got here, though this laugh sounded less forced and more genuine. "Try telling her that. Even the leader tells her to take a break, but she doesn't listen. It's never enough for her." She opened a door and the two walked in. "Alright, Gray Diamond," She sat at a white office chair, propping her feet up on the desk and taking out what looked to be a microchip. "This is yours." She slid the small object to the other side of the desk where he stood.

"Is that all?" He asked, walking back into the doorway.

"One more thing." She lowered her legs to the ground and sat up straight, with the slightest hint of a smile. "Welcome to the Synthetic Society."


	2. Chapter 2

Nine gems sat at a large round table, surrounded by screens covering most of the four white walls. All nine of them had a different colored letter "X" somewhere on their clothing. An orange gem stood up, speaking to another gem.

"Look, all I'm saying is that it's not a good idea to let him in. You shouldn't have even talked to him. We could all be in danger now that he knows." Despite her worries, she spoke calmly, never raising her voice or changing tone.

"Just trust me on this one, I know what I'm doing. He's not a threat." Hawk's Eye assured her.

Another gem stood. "Hawk's Eye, I adore you and all, but I have to agree with Tiger's Eye. The gem you brought here could be dangerous."

"He won't be any trouble, you're just letting bias cloud your thoughts."

"Hey, I'm just stating the facts. What do you expect, for everyone to be completely fine with letting a Diamond, of all gems, join us?"

"Bloodstone, Serpentine what are your opinions?" A green gem asked.

"I think we should give him a chance. We gave all of you a chance, didn't we, Serpentine?"

Serpentine nodded. "Yes sir." She stood as the rest of the gems sat back down. "We have heard of the others of his kind doing wrongful deeds, but never him. He hasn't hurt us, we shouldn't discriminate against him."

"Who's to say he won't do something? He has the power to, he shouldn't be trusted!" Another gem pointed out.

"Listen closely, all of you, because this is the only time I will say it. Prejudice, of any kind, against anyone, will not be tolerated. Be weary if you feel it is necessary, but if you make any preconceptions of any of our members, there will be consequences." Bloodstone spoke in a firm, strong voice. Everyone nodded, taken slightly aback by their usually playful leader's serious tone. "You are all dismissed. Hawk's Eye, please tell Gray Diamond to come to the centerpiece."

* * *

Gray Diamond paced nervously, waiting behind a large black door. He could hear faint voices on the inside, but he didn't dare eavesdrop or come in without permission. Though he wasn't listening to the conversation, he couldn't help but think they were talking about him, and given the Diamond Empire's reputation, it probably wasn't good.

The door split into two symmetrical pieces and slid open. Inside was a green and red gem sitting at a desk and a short green gem standing on his left by a glass panel.

"Hello, Gray Diamond, is it?" The green and red gem asked.

"Y-yes sir." He stuttered, walking over to the opposite side of the desk.

He smiled. "Don't be so nervous! I don't bite," He chuckled. "Though she might." He added, gesturing towards the gem at his side. "I am Bloodstone, current leader of this organization, and this is—"

He looked over at the green gem, instantly recognizing her lime green hair. "Serpentine?"

Serpentine nodded. "Sorry about earlier, by the way."

"It's fine, no harm done."

"What exactly happened earlier?" Bloodstone cocked his head to the side slightly, curious.

Serpentine opened her mouth to speak, but Gray Diamond beat her to it. "Apparently, your apprentice here can't go anywhere without tackling someone."

She looked a bit upset, but said nothing of it.

"Ah, well, if there's something you'll learn quickly here, it's that she's not a force to be reckoned with."

Serpentine cleared her throat. "Excuse me, Bloodstone, we have more important matters to take care of than fooling around with our new recruit."

"Ah, well I suppose you're right. Gray Diamond, I assume you know what branches you may join?"

He nodded. "Yes sir."

"You must choose one by the next moon cycle, understood?" Gray Diamond nodded again. "Serpentine, take him to his quarters."

Serpentine nodded, walking out into the hall and signaling for Gray Diamond to follow. It was quiet, the kind of silence that made one of them uncomfortable.

"So," Gray Diamond started, but was cut off by the other gem.

"So what? Speak up." She ordered, sounding harsher than she meant to, made obvious by the face she made afterwards.

"Never mind. Forget I said anything."

"No, I'm sorry, please continue."

"Well, I just wanted to ask how long it's been since you joined."

"Hm... About 7,000 years." She looked down to the lower floor, eyeing over the recruits. "Hawk's Eye brought you here, correct?" He nodded. "Your first impression?"

"She was nice, I suppose. Does she usually get nervous so easily?"

"She's not too confident around newcomers, but knowing her, she's gotten used to you already. You should've seen her on her first day."

"Total wreck?"

"Something like that, yes." She looked down at the recruits again, looking for the blue gem. "Would you say she's done a good job of guiding you around the building?"

Gray Diamond nodded. "Though I'm still a bit lost. It is my first day, after all."

"There's a map programmed into your identity card. Just press the button to turn it on. The map is the first application on the first page." Serpentine stopped at a black panel on the wall. "Place your right hand here."

Gray Diamond did as he was told and placed his hand on the panel. It scanned his hand, and to the left of it, a door appeared. In the center, there was a black circle adorned with a white letter "X" and a gray circle in the middle. On the inside of the room was a desk, a chair, full bookshelves, and screens on the back wall.

"Where do these rooms come from?"

"They've always been here. The walls are covered by holograms."

After a moment of silence, Gray Diamond spoke up. "This place is weird." He mumbled.

"I'm sure you'll get used to it soon enough." Serpentine replied, laughing quietly, as if she didn't want to be heard.


	3. Chapter 3

Places like this, they were often looked down upon. Higher classes often referred to the members as contentious renegades, though they fought for the good of the Homeworld. Others, however, saw them as heroes. It was common for lower classes to be treated harshly, being forced to do hours, often days of painstaking work, supervised by cruel taskmasters.

The Homeworld's state deteriorated since the war for Earth. Much of it was ruined, resources became scarce, and the population dropped sharply. Labor and prices for goods increased, while little was earned for their work. The inhabitants begun to rebel, forcing the government to seek full control. This power infuriated the people more so, but they couldn't do anything for fear of death.

In time, the Homeworld was restored, little by little, the population increased, many areas were repaired, resources were easier to find, prices dropped back to normal, inhabitants no longer had to work long shifts, and pay was higher. Homeworld was finally at peace during this moment in time.

Then, that moment ended. Everything that the people had built up, everything they worked for, was demolished, shattered and broken down to nothing. Once again, they were oppressed by a totalitarian government, though not the same one.

They were invaders from another planet, though some believe they were once one of them. Though small in numbers, they were powerful, easily overthrowing the past rulers. History repeats itself, and once again, the Homeworld fell into a great depression.

 _This is why we fight. This is why we stand our ground even when things seem hopeless. This is our cause; to save the people from the tyranny they're suffering through. We must fight until our last breaths if we want to have a chance, even just a bit of hope that we can achieve our goal._

 _But to accomplish this goal, we need every single member's support and devotion. Every single gem makes a difference in the outcome, whether it be small or large is up to them. That includes you, Gray Diamond. You're one of us now. I don't care who you are to everyone outside the society, here you are a warrior, no matter your branch, you are fighting for our cause, and on behalf of the others, I'd like to thank you for that. Even when the future looks hopeless and dreary, never give up, never surrender. I believe in you._


End file.
